LISTEN: Johannesburg water crisis lands CoJ and Mayor Dada Morero in court
The DA has approached the South Gauteng High Court, demanding the City of Johannesburg implement its water turnaround strategy as residents in the south continue battling shortages and leaks.
The City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) worsening water crisis has prompted the DA to file court papers in the South Gauteng High Court on May 11 against Johannesburg Water, the CoJ Metropolitan Municipality, and Executive Mayor Dada Morero.
The CoJ and Mayor have 10 days to respond to the application.
The water crisis remains a thorny issue in the south of Johannesburg, with ongoing water shortages and burst pipes affecting residents.
As of May 12, Mothwa Old Age Home only has water available at night, leaving seniors struggling to access water during the day.
Meanwhile, on Jasper Road in Robertsham, thousands of litres of clean water continue to be wasted due to a leak that was first reported three years ago. Although repairs are carried out, the leak repeatedly reappears.
According to DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille, this legal action follows years of accelerated infrastructure collapse, lack of maintenance, chronic water outages, and the failure of the ANC-led administration to act with the urgency required to protect residents and businesses.
“The court application makes it clear that the crisis facing Johannesburg is not the result of an unavoidable disaster, but rather the direct consequence of political failure, poor governance, and deliberate inaction by the mayor and his mayoral committee and the administration.
“The purpose of this court case is to ensure that your constitutional right to water is properly restored and maintained. We argue that the CoJ must implement its 2024 Water Turnaround Strategy, which was passed by the council two years ago. All we want is for the council to allocate the money to implement its own turnaround strategy,” she said.
They submitted a signed affidavit of 700 pages to support this case.
Johannesburg water turnaround strategy
On July 31, the CoJ approved the comprehensive turnaround strategy for Johannesburg Water (and City Power). By then, it marked a significant milestone in bolstering essential municipal services across the city.
Key features of the strategy included:
1. Detailed assessment of service delivery and financial performance.
2. Implementation of governance reforms and operational improvements.
3. Development of comprehensive business and investment plans aligned with water service development goals.
This is a developing story; more information from CoJ will be added as soon as it is available.
